Heart of Stone
by Pandaknots
Summary: The Second Giant War has been won by the Twice Hero of Olympus, Percy Jackson, and all should be well. But what happens when the Gods believe that he is too powerful and is a threat to Olympus? What happens when they cast him down into Tartarus for eternity? What happens when Percy meets an unexpected enemy, who may eventually become his greatest ally? On Hiatus.
1. Sentenced to Hell

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO nor the story's pic.**

 **AN: Hey guys, first time poster but long time reader of PJO fanfics.**

 **I understand that reviews aren't always meant to be nice, however I would appreciate if no one posted any flames. I'm completely open to constructive criticism though; in fact, I would love it.**

 **I'm not the best writer, but I'm using this story to hopefully practice while also trying to develop a story that I think can be interesting. I'm a fan of the OP and Revenge PJ stories, so this is my take on those topics. I hope that my writing is original, but you may notice some similarities to those of other stories that have somewhat inspired me to write this one.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy this story, this chapter is more like a prologue. I will try to keep everything in Third Person POV.**

It was finally over.

The savior of Olympus, and essentially the world, laid there with his palms and knees firmly planted to the ground, his haggard breathing strongly present. Riptide sat loosely in his grip as he gazed out at the destruction of the camp, his home since he was 12.

After all the years of quests and fighting for the survival of the Gods. After defeating countless Titans and blood-thirsty Giants. After defeating the Earth herself, he could finally relax.

The battle itself had been gruesome, many demigods, Greek and Roman alike, had been slain on the battlefield. In all, only about 25 demigods from each pantheon had survived, totaling around 50 campers. Those who did survive felt deep remorse for their fallen comrades, yet they couldn't help but be relieved that the fighting had finally stopped. Together, they decided they were going to live for those who had sacrificed their lives to save humanity. No one thought this as much as Percy.

He continued to lay there on the hill, feeling the molten achiness of every muscle, and the wave of exhaustion that took over his body. His ADHD hotwired mind was travelling at speeds impossible to imagine, reliving his fight that took place moments before.

 _During the battle, he had taken on Gaea by himself. It was an intense fight, one that would be spoken of for the rest of the Gods' existence. With his sword Riptide in hand, he had clashed with Mother Earth and met her heavy strikes with his own. After minutes of dodging and trying to counter attack, Percy's strikes had become slower, weaker and he had a hard time dodging and deflecting the attacks of Gaia. He begun to run out of stamina, something the primordial Goddess was not showing any symptoms of. In his state of exhaustion, Gaea had taken the brief moment to knock his sword out of his hand, before she had raised up her sword to deliver the final blow._

 _At that moment Percy had felt defeated, angry with himself that he wasn't able to protect his friends and family. He wondered if all the sacrifices made by his late friends had gone to waste._

 _But the familiar feeling that erupted in his gut told him to keep his hope, engulfing his body and mind with newfound vigor. The look of defeat in his eyes changed to one of determination, as he felt the power of the sea flow within him. The winds began to pick up, and the clouds started to darken to a menacing grey. Water from the camp lake lurched up into the sky, and began to whirl around the Son of Poseidon. Using almost all of his remaining strength, Percy Jackson had created a hurricane that completely engulfed Long Island, so large, that it rivaled ones made by his own father._

 _Gaia's eyes had widened in surprise and fury, as the water whipped around her, nicking at her skin and quickly eroding her down. The water began to melt her earthlike body, turning it into mud as it slowly drooped down to the ground. With his last ounce of strength, Percy gripped Riptide tightly with both hands, which had returned to his pocket, and propelled himself forward with the water, straight at Gaia. With his sword stretched out, he punctured her weakened body and impaled her heart._

 _The once evil eyes morphed into surprise and pain and with a last, blood-curling screech, Gaia exploded into golden dust. Mother Earth's essence had blown away in the hurricane winds, scattering the particles. Gaia would never be seen again._

 **-Line Break-**

Up on Mount Olympus, the Olympians, along with Hestia and Hades, sat in the Throne Room, having just witnessed the events of the battle. All of them were in deep thought, some showing signs of disbelief, others jealousy and fury, at the display of power shown by the Son of Poseidon.

"He is too powerful." The King of the Gods muttered at first, barely audible enough for anyone else in the room to hear him. "HE IS MUCH TOO POWERFUL! WE MUST DESTROY HIM BEFORE HE CAN GROW STRONGER!" Zeus exploded.

That got everyone's attention, especially the 8-year-old looking girl who sat in the middle of the room next to the blooming hearth.

"What!?" Hestia yelled out incredulously. "Did you not just see that he saved the world once again from utter chaos? This is the second time he has stopped an impossible evil; how could you say that we must kill him?"

"How could you say we mustn't kill him?" Zeus countered poorly. "He is obviously a threat to Olympus. Not only does he have power over the seas that rival Poseidon himself, but he is a stronger warrior than Ares and almost as quick as Artemis. He has the power to take out everyone on this council except possibly the Big 3." He reasoned.

Some on the Council began to wiggle uncomfortably in their seats at the convincing logic of Zeus. If Percy could face off against a primordial and win, what's stopping him from forcefully taking out the gods? Poseidon was deep in thought and both Ares and Artemis looked furious from the comparison to a demigod.

Hestia, who always tried her best to remain calm in all situations, could no longer stand the nonsense sprouting from her brother's mouth. She quickly grew to the size of the Olympians and had shifted from her 8-year-old form to look more like a woman in her late 20s.

"Do you not hear the absurdity in your words _brother_? We are speaking of Percy Jackson, the most loyal individual ever known! It is impossible for him to ever go against us, and you know this." She said staring angrily into the eyes of her brother. She shifted her gaze slightly to turn to her other sibling. "And you, why are you not defending your own child?"

Poseidon continued to sit there in his throne, looking like he was deep in thought. Finally, he turned his gaze up to look into the orange eyes of Hestia. "Well, I have to agree with Zeus on this." He said simply.

Hestia couldn't even make a sound as she just stood there, with wide eyes and a slightly agape mouth. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What did you say?" She said quietly, hoping she had misheard Poseidon's words.

Poseidon just let out an annoyed sigh. "I said that I'm agreeing with Zeus. Percy is becoming extremely proficient in his water manipulation, too proficient in fact. While as unfortunate as it is, I have to make a decision. Either keep one son alive and possibly lose everything to him as he only becomes stronger, or end one mortal life and save Olympus and Atlantis." He stated as if it was simple.

Hestia was left shocked once again. "ONE MORTAL LIFE?! This is the Hero of Olympus, the two-time savior of the world! How can you feel so indifferent?!" She began looking around the rest of the throne room, looking for support. "Artemis?" She asked. "He took the burden of the sky for you, does that not mean anything to you?"

"He is also the one responsible for the death of my best friend, Zoe. Not to mention he is a male, I don't care if he dies." She said coolly.

Hestia began to act more frantic, looking for someone to defend Percy. "Hermes? You've always been close to Percy, he's like a second son. You've seen the goodness in his heart."

Hermes just glared at the Goddess of the Hearth. "If it wasn't for him, Luke would have never been dubbed a traitor and he could still be alive." He spat.

"Apollo?!" Hestia tried desperately.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus thundered. "Hephaestus, detain her." He commanded.

Hephaestus, who was just fiddling with a piece of metal. Shrugged and grabbed something out of his pocket and tossed it over to the Goddess. It was a small box that gleamed with its celestial bronze surface before it exploded like a grenade, the light engulfing Hestia. When the light faded away, she was trapped inside a celestial bronze cage.

Zeus just snapped his fingers and the cage along with Hestia vanished from sight. "Alright, those in favor of sending Perseus to Tartarus, raise your hand. All 12 hands of the Olympians, along with Hades, were raised in the air.

"Very well, summon the demigods to Olympus, it's time for celebration." Zeus grinned smugly.

 **-Line Break-**

Cheers erupted from within Camp Half-blood. The few demigods from both camps were laughing and crying with one another, overjoyed that they had made it through the war. The unnoticed weight that rested on everyone's shoulders seemed to be lifted as they knew that the world was safe again.

The cheers though were soon interrupted when a booming thunder from the sky came, signaling that Zeus had call for a meeting in the throne room of Olympus. Percy knew what was happening next, it was time for the award ceremony. Through the powers of the Gods, all the warriors from the war were summoned to the throne room. Twelve, stunning Olympian thrones, all perfectly matching each Olympian and their domains, lined the walls of the room, forming a U-shape around the tired warriors.

Zeus stood from his throne, not before sneaking a glare towards Percy that seemed to go unnoticed by everyone except for him. He then began his loud speech.

"Warriors of Olympus!" He boomed. "Today is a day that will forever be immortalized in history! The day where we accomplished the impossible, stopping Gaea and her children from taking control of the world and plunging it into chaos!"

Everyone in the throne room cheered at the words said by the King of the Gods.

"You all have fought well, and it is time to begin awarding gifts to those who are deserving", again sending a glare towards a confused Percy.

"Jason Grace, step forward!"

Zeus began the ceremony, of course, by recognizing his son first. The arrogance of the King of the Gods annoyed Percy a bit, but he knew that Jason deserved to be recognized.

"Jason, my proudest son, without you and your efforts, this war would have been lost. For your heroic actions, I proudly offer you the gift of Godhood!".

Everyone gasped and Jason's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Y-you are offering me the chance to become a God?" he stuttered.

Zeus just chuckled at his son. "Of course, does anyone here think that _my_ son isn't deserving of such a gift?" emphasizing the "my" and glaring at everyone in the audience, daring anyone to speak up. It remained silent before Jason turned towards his friends and Percy, who all gave him nods of encouragement.

"Father, I, Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, accept your gracious offer to become a God."

Zeus widely grinned, and he and the rest of the Olympians began the ancient ritual of turning a mortal into a God. After they had finished, Jason glowed a bright gold, signaling that he was now immortal. Jason stepped back towards his friends, and Zeus moved onto the next demi-god. Surprisingly, Zeus and the rest of the Olympian Council offered Godhood to the remaining five demi-gods of the quest, as well as to Nico and Reyna. They all happily accepted their offers, until all that was left was Percy.

"Perseus Jackson." Zeus said the name with disgust, "Step forward!" he thundered venomously.

Everyone was shocked. Why was Zeus treating the twice over hero of Olympus with such malice?

Percy stepped forward cautiously before kneeling before the King of Olympus, lowering his head as not to show disrespect.

"Perseus, we, the Olympians, shall be giving you the best gift, we could ever give to someone of your caliber." He spoke the sentence with such malice that left Percy and the rest of the warriors of Olympus utterly confused.

"For you, we offer immortality…"

Percy was relieved when Zeus gave him a normal offer, scared to think what the King might do when he seemed to be so angry with him. That was until Zeus continued his sentence.

"We offer you immortality so that you may rot in Tartarus for eternity!"

The Throne Room went silent. What had he just say? Did he say that the Olympians were going to send the Hero of Olympus of not just the Titan War, but the Giant War too, to the deepest depths of Hell?

Percy didn't know how to react. He was stunned. What had he done to anger the Zeus? Percy looked around at the other Olympians in their thrones, hoping to see that he had misheard Zeus.

All he saw were looks of hatred, jealousy, or indifference.

He turned to his father, Poseidon, only to be met with the look of indifference seen on some of the other Olympians. What was happening? Why were the Olympians giving him looks as if he was some sort of monster? He called out to his father.

"Dad, what's wrong? Did I do something to make you angry?"

The response he received knocked the wind out of his lungs. "You are no son of mine! We have evidence that proves you are a traitor and threat to Olympus!" Of course, Poseidon was lying. Not wanting everyone to know that the Olympians were scared of Percy's powers, they had devised a plan to make it seem like he was helping Gaea the whole time.

Everyone gasped, having trouble processing the current situation. They didn't know what to believe. Why would the Hero of Olympus betray them?

Percy just stood there in shock.

"I would never betray my home!" he yelled out almost pleadingly. "Everyone that I love, why would I betray them!"

Hermes spoke up, a look of fury in his eyes. "Stop with your useless lies traitor. Being the vile monster you are, you caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, including my son Luke, a _real_ hero, when he could have been saved in the Titan War." While he was lying because he and the Olympians needed to get rid of him, Hermes still held resentment towards the demigod for the death of his favorite son, Luke Castellan.

The mention of Luke caused many of the warriors to begin believing the Olympian's lies. While they had hated Luke before, they had learned of his sacrifice and treated him as a hero. The thought that Percy had killed that hero made them wary and angry at the son of Poseidon.

"Perseus Jackson, any last words before you never see the sun and stars again? Zeus sneered as he continued his speech.

Percy couldn't believe it, this was actually happening. He was about to be sent to Tartarus forever, for no apparent reason. He did the last thing he could think of.

"I promise on the River Styx, I never attempted anything to betray Olympus." He said with sincerity.

Thundered boomed in the distance, and the warriors of the throne room waited for the River to claim the lying demigod. But when nothing happened, the warriors and his 8 best friends realized that he wasn't lying. Guilt flooded their conscious'. They couldn't believe that for a minute they thought that their leader and, more importantly, friend would betray them.

Zeus' face went red with anger at Percy's action. He had to quickly get rid of the demigod before anything else went unfavorably for him. Before anyone could speak up after Percy's statement, Zeus yelled

"Perseus Jackson, I hereby denounce your title of Hero of Olympus and banish you to Tartarus for eternity!"

No one had any time to react, especially Percy. He was blasted with an intense force coming from each of the twelve Gods. He could feel as his mortal blood began to boil and turn into the golden ichor of the immortals. If felt like he was burning from the inside out, as the Olympians made no attempt to make the transition painless for Percy.

The floor beneath him quickly cracked and opened, and before he had anytime to say anything, he began falling to the deepest depths of Hell. The last thing he saw was the smug, smiling faces of the Olympians as they casted him down into Tartarus.

 **-Line Break-**

Percy continued to fall into Tartarus for what seemed like forever. The humid and hot tunnel was uncomfortable as the environment made his clothes cling to his sweat covered body.

As Percy fell, a swarm of emotions passed through him. At first, he was despondent. He couldn't believe that he was thrown out by his family, particularly his father. The way that the Olympians looked at him made him shake and cry out in anguish.

Where had he gone wrong? Whatever he did in life was for the benefit of his family and friends. He loved them too much not to do so.

But after what Percy could assume to be hours, and continuing to think back to the moment in the throne room, he felt his despair change. He felt disgruntled, angry, and soon after, felt pure hatred towards all the Olympians. They had lied straight to his face, but worst, to all his friends.

He wondered if they all hated him now, believing the words of the Olympians. He couldn't blame them though. Even if they wanted to believe Percy, they could never go against the word of the Olympian Council. That would just be a death sentence.

The more Percy thought, the stronger his feeling of hatred grew for the twelve Gods. Not only had they eternally ruined his life, but also took away the companionship of his friends and family. He looked up in the tunnel, from where he fell from, and screamed angrily at the top of his lungs,

"I swear on the Styx Olympians! That one day I will return, and when I do, I will make sure that you no longer rule the world your cruel and unfair ways!"

Even when falling into Tartarus, the sound of thunder could be heard, sealing the promise he had made.

Percy was confused though when he heard the boom come from under him instead of some far away distance. It was then he saw a dim light glowing beneath him when suddenly, the once narrow tunnel he fell through opened into a vast, red space that seemed to stretch out forever.

Percy looked down again and saw the ground quickly approaching. He knew that when he hit the ground he was going to disintegrate on impact, or if he didn't, was going to be in for an insane amount of pain.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that not too far away from him, laid the river in which he swore to just moments before. It's dark green, almost black waters churning wildly against the banks of the river. Percy being the "act first, think later" kind of guy, quickly had the idiotic idea of using the water to slow down his descent. He knew that it wasn't wise to bathe in the Styx again, knowing that Lady Styx wouldn't allow him to live for entering her river once again, but he felt that at this point he had no choice.

Feeling the tug in his gut, Percy summoned the waters of the Styx to surround his body as he was descending rapidly, only fifty feet from the ground. He screamed as the water touched his skin, burning him with an unimaginable amount of pain, worse than when he was turned immortal.

Even with all his pain, he was able to completely wrap himself with the water and landed hard onto the red, rocky floor of Tartarus. The water cushioned his fall, if you could say that, before it traveled back to its source. The agony that Percy felt from his hard landing was excruciating. While he didn't have any broken bones thanks to his make-shift water cocoon, it certainly felt like he needed a flask or two of nectar.

He couldn't move his body and the pain slowly made it so that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. As he began to fall unconscious, he barely saw a slithering body approaching him, with green tinted skin and striking emerald, green eyes. Right before darkness overtook him, he saw hundreds of venomous serpents slithering atop the person's head, looking at him in hunger.


	2. Emerald Green Eyes

**AN: Just wanted to say, thank you guys for already supporting this story! I was surprised by how many people followed and was even more surprised that people already started favoriting.**

 **I specifically wanted to thank the people who reviewed and provided such encouraging words. Thank you perseusberserker, . , and The-Real-Effing-Deal, very much appreciated!**

 **Anyways here is Chapter 2, which I think is much better organized and written than Chapter 1**

 **Third Person POV:**

Percy found himself standing in the middle of the throne room on Olympus. The hearth that always laid in the middle barely lit up the room, the once beaming flames now a small, lifeless crackle. No one was in the room at the moment, the goddess who tended the hearth nowhere to be seen. That is until the scene in front of Percy began to shift.

The twelve thrones of the beings he despised morphed into a luscious, sunny beach with palm trees dotted around the perimeter. The sun was beaming down on the soft, white sand, no clouds could be seen, and the ocean shone a beautiful sea green, just like Percy's eyes. Percy looked behind him to see a massive resort, the name _The Royal Guam Resort_ plastered to the side of the huge building.

That's when a confused look appeared on Percy's face. Guam? Why was he in Guam? Shouldn't he be in Tartarus? Not that he was complaining of course, anywhere would be better than that hell-hole, but it didn't make any sense.

While thinking, Percy began walking down the beach, looking out into the sea green ocean. Even when he was disowned by the Ruler of the Seas, the ocean brought peace to Percy, watching the waves lightly lap against the shores. He continued his walk for a couple minutes, just enjoying the serene scenery, until he heard the sound of a young woman screaming. His eyes left the ocean and his eyes darted forwards to a scene that made Percy freeze in his tracks.

In front of him stood the twelve Olympians who had tossed him in the pit, all smugly looking at a terrified and angry Hestia who stood in a small, enchanted celestial bronze cage, gripping the bars tightly making her fingers go white. The Olympians didn't seem to notice Percy's presence and Zeus began speaking.

"Sister, your support for that monster, Perseus Jackson, is forcing us to do this. If you swear on the Styx to forever despise that over powered brat, we will gladly release you."

Hestia just looked defiantly at her younger brother. "What in Chaos' name is happening to you!" looking at all the Olympians angrily. "You all are acting insane! How could you throw the hero who protected us from a cruel fate, _twice_ , into Tartarus?"

Zeus just stood there with an emotionless face when Poseidon spoke up. "He was becoming too powerful." he said passively. "If he continued his growth he could have become a threat to Olympus."

Hestia's glare snapped to the Sea God's direction. "And you!" she spat. "How could you have disowned your favorite son! Have you forgotten that his fatal flaw is loyalty? He would have never betrayed Olympus for as long as he lived!"

"Enough" Zeus shouted, thunder booming in the sky above. "Sister, this is your last chance. Swear on the Styx or we shall have to imprison you in that trench for eternity for supporting Perseus Jackson! You may be the Goddess of the Hearth, but even your fire is no match for the weight of the seas."

Percy finally realized what was happening. Hestia was still supporting him, trying to convince the Olympians that they had made a mistake and to bring him back. But this had only made the Olympians angry at the Goddess, and they had made the decision to imprison her in the deepest depths of the Ocean, Marianas Trench.

Hestia continued to glare at Zeus, refusing to be submissive. "I am also the Goddess of Family, and family never stops supporting each other." Then glaring back to the rest of the Olympians, "nor do they lie about them and cast them into Hell." Speaking with venom.

Zeus looked shocked at Hestia's words until his shock soon turned into anger. "Very well sister, you have made your foolish choice. I hereby banish you, Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, to the depths of the trench where you shall remain for as long as we rule!" he roared.

Percy tried to cry out to the Gods and Goddesses, finally finding his voice. No reaction came from any of them as if they hadn't heard him. He watched in horror, as the cage that jailed the Goddess of the Hearth, one of the only people to believe in him, was dragged into the sea, taking her to the darkness of the bottom of the ocean.

 **-Line Break-**

Percy woke with a start, his arms and legs jerking until he felt something restraining them. As his mind woke up, a sudden ache washed over him as he remembered his less than graceful landing. He slowly turned his attention to his wrists and ankles, only to see that he was bound to wall, celestial bronze chains holding him in place and stripping him of his ability to move.

Without being able to do anything at the moment, Percy thought back to the dream he just had. Knowing that as a demigod, his dreams tended to mean something, he couldn't help but feel depressed about Hestia's imprisonment. She was suffering because of him, because she chose not to conform to the Olympians and defended him instead. His rage towards Olympians somehow seemed to grow. Not only had they wrongfully sent him to Tartarus, they were now hurting those who he was close with. He had newfound determination, he was going to get out of the Pit and save the only Goddess who stood up for him. He was going to bring the Olympians down to their knees.

His thoughts though were broken when he heard a sound come from the entrance way of the room, now registering the situation he was in. He was in Tartarus, chained to a wall in a small, dimly-lit room with a blood red floor. The walls were a pale brown that seemed to be made out of the skin of monsters, possibly cyclops or laestrygonian giants. He involuntarily shuddered at thinking about a person or monster who was cruel enough to use the skin of humanoid creatures as the insulator to their home. Then again, he remembered he was in Tartarus, home to some of the most sinister beings in the world.

The sound he heard earlier seemed to get louder and he knew that he would soon be meeting his captor. It sounded like hundreds of small hisses, as if he was in the middle of a snake pit. Whatever was coming towards him was definitely reptilian, making Percy's mind fill up with images of all the deadly types of monsters that he could possibly meet. Finally, his host appeared in the entrance way.

As they entered, a long, poison green, snake like body neatly coiled up into a spiral looking like a garden hose. The scales that coated it glimmered from the limited light and looked smooth, yet if touched, was sharp enough to shred skin. Percy continued looking up the body where the green scales seemed to completely disappear as the serpent body melted into smooth, pale, green-tinted flesh. There, the curvy frame of a woman could be seen, wearing a small breast plate that exposed the woman's stomach and showed off a fair amount of cleavage. If Percy wasn't constrained to a wall in Tartarus, he probably would of blushed at the sight of the beautiful woman's body. The thought however, immediately left his head when he looked at her face. The woman, or monster, had a heart-shaped face with full lips underneath the most radiant eyes he had ever seen. They were a solid emerald green with piercing, midnight black pupils. Percy couldn't help but stare at the woman before him, she was very beautiful. But as his eyes travelled upwards to the top of her head where he expected to see a head of hair, color drained from his face and his eyes widened in fear and shock. Hundreds of bronze and gold colored serpents with green venom drenched on their teeth, nestled and hissed a top her head.

In front of Percy stood Medusa, the gorgon he killed on his first quest as a demigod when he was 12 years old. The monster who could turn any living being into stone just from a look at her hideous face, according to the legends.

Wait a minute. Hideous? The woman in front of him was gorgeous. And why hadn't he turned to stone yet? He had been looking at her for several seconds already.

He was cut away from his thoughts when she finally spoke.

"Perseus Jackson" she spat his name with venom.

For some odd reason, he remembered the Ancient Greek stories of the original Perseus, son of Zeus, who had slain Medusa the first time. Now that he thought of it, she probably wasn't very fond of demigods with the name Perseus.

"What a surprise it was for me to come upon you next to the River of Styx. Have the Olympians finally tire of your existence and banished you down here for me to _enjoy_ " she smirked evilly, emphasizing "enjoy". While Percy was scared, he scowled at the mention of the Olympians.

"Those Olympians are dead to me, the way they rule this world is no better than that of what Kronos or Gaia would have done. All they do is take advantage of others and toss them away once they have expended their use." his words laced with malice. Percy's sea green eyes began to darken until they could have been mistaken for black. "I will make them pay."

Medusa's emerald green eyes widened in surprise, before the emotion disappeared as quickly as it has shown. She could somewhat sympathize with the demigod, remembering her own unfortunate past of feeling the wrath of the Olympians. She used to be a faithful priest of Athena, but one day she had met the God of the Seas and fell in love. When Athena found out her relationship with Poseidon, she placed this horrid curse on her, changing her once beautiful appearance to the hideous gorgon she now was. When she had tried to turn to Poseidon for help, the God of the Seas simply ignored her, treating her as if she was another monster for his demigod children to kill.

Medusa quickly shook the memory out of her head and returned her attention and anger to the demigod before her. He had killed her once before, and now she was going to return the favor by torturing him very slowly and painfully.

"To bad you won't be able to do that without knowing how to escape Tartarus." she said with a cocky smile and her hands on her hips. "Not that you would ever get the chance to when you're going to be my torture pet for eternity".

A look of realization crossed Percy's face. He was in front of one of the most famous monsters in Greek history, a monster who probably has a huge grudge against him.

Medusa noticed the look on Percy's face before smiling wickedly. She slithered up to him, her face merely inches apart from his. "That's right _Perseus_ , you didn't think I would forget about you sending me back to this Gods forsaken pit…" she paused before moving her mouth up to his ear and whispering, "did you?".

Percy visibly shivered at Medusa's words. He may have been the twice over Hero of Olympus, but that didn't mean he was invulnerable to terrifying monsters. If he didn't find a way to escape soon, he was going to spend eternity tortured.

Medusa took one more look at Percy, sharp emerald green eyes staring into anxious sea green. She turned from the demigod and began to exit the room, smiling as she thought of all the ways she could deliver pain to the son of Poseidon.

Suddenly an ear-shattering roar erupted from outside her home interrupted her thoughts. A giant tail crashed through the walls, destroying the room instantly, and covering Medusa and Percy in rubble.


	3. An Interesting Demigod

**AN: Hey guys! It's been a little bit since chapter 2, but finally I have gotten around to write chapter 3. Like chapter 2, I really like how this turned out. I was even more surprised with how long it became. I was thinking that I was going to have trouble even reaching 2,000 words but before I knew it I was at 2,700!**

 **Again thanks to everyone who favorited/followed, I really appreciate the support! I made some edits to chapter 1 and 2 after receiving the review from Perseusberserker. I agreed that I was taking it to fast with Percy being attracted to Medusa, so it's changed to be more realistic. Take a look if you haven't already.**

 **Anyways, here is Chapter 3. Third Person POV:**

Not even awake for ten minutes in Tartarus, and Percy was already getting attacked by a monster. Fantastic.

The rubble of the small room laid atop him, thankfully not weighing an unbearable amount. After having to hold up the sky, there were very few things Percy found that were able to crush him. He shifted around, gladly finding that his celestial bronze restraints had dented slightly due to the crash, allowing him to wiggle himself free of the chains. He pushed himself up, moving the hardened rubble off him, only to breathe in toxic air that instantly made him drop down to one knee and cough up blood.

While it made little difference, Percy moved the collar of his t-shirt upwards to cover his nose and mouth, before he assessed his situation. What he turned to see made his blood run cold. Close to him, stood the largest hydra he had ever seen. Standing probably 20 feet tall with seven monstrous sized heads, the six outer heads breathing out what looked to be poisonous gas.

Percy knew the story of hydras. Thanks to Annabeth, he actually had learned a lot about Greek monsters, their strengths and weaknesses. He knew that for every head you cut off from the hydra, two would grow in its place. In order to actually kill the monster, you had to cauterize the stumps of a head that was chopped off, so that it wouldn't be able to grow more. But as far as Percy could tell, there was no fire in sight.

Percy returned his attention to the Hydra, but saw that the beast was focused on something else, making him release a breath he didn't know he was holding in. He shifted his gaze towards the Hydra's target only to see his captor. Medusa stood in front of the beast, a worried yet defiant look on her face as she tightly gripped a sharp scimitar.

The Hydra roared, all seven heads releasing a deep and gurgly sound that would make even monsters tremble. Its large, reptilian eyes stared hungrily at Medusa, before one of the heads struck, opening its wide maw, ready to take a bite out of the gorgon. Medusa rolled out of the way a moment before the head crashed into the rocky ground, letting out an angry growl. The other heads then began attacking simultaneously, each trying to chomp down on her.

Percy watched in awe as he watched the gorgon dodge and parry the oncoming onslaught, her scimitar redirecting the heads just enough to where she wouldn't get hit. Who knew that the gorgon was such a skilled swordsman.

A thought then coursed through Percy's head. Should he stay and help her, knowing that she would probably soon run out of stamina, or should he take the opportunity to sneak away and get far from the two ferocious monsters.

But Percy was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a feral scream. He looked to see one of the hydra's heads, clamped down onto the left arm of Medusa. The head shook wildly, tearing the limb away from the body, the arm hanging out of its mouth like a piece of spaghetti. It began to fight with some of the other heads as they were all trying to get a piece of the appendage.

Medusa collapsed to the floor, gripping her bleeding stub and screaming out in agony. At that moment, when Percy made his decision. Quickly, as the hydra heads was still fighting for the arm, Percy ran in the direction of Medusa, surprisingly scooping her up effortlessly in between his arms, even with her long serpent tail. He ran as fast as he could in any direction that took them farther away from the monster.

Medusa, dazed and still in pain, looked up at the demigod, before weakly laughing.

"Foolish demigod, there is no way for you to outrun the Lernaean Hydra. It has caught onto our scent, and it will keep hunting us until we are nothing but bones."

Percy glared down at her, even though he knew she was probably right. How could he outrun a 20-foot monster?

"Well, unless you know where to get some fire, this is the only option we have right now."

Medusa froze in his arms before a look of realization crossed her face.

"The Phlegethon! I built my home close to it. We could use its flames to cauterize its heads."

A small bit of hope appeared in Percy's eyes. But it left soon afterwards when they dark roar of the Hydra sounded in the distance. It was on its way.

"Which direction, we need to get there right now!"

Medusa looked around the surroundings before pointing off to their right.

"That way."

"Got it." And Percy began running until he was punched hard in the chest, making him stumble.

"Put me down demigod." Medusa spoke with a warning tone, her emerald orbs glaring at him and beginning to glow a bright green. "I've lost my arm, not my tail, so you better put me down before I turn you into stone."

Percy quickly nodded his head with a semi-scared look, and let Medusa down. They then quickly sprinted, or slithered in Medusa's case, off to the direction of the Phlegethon in silence.

 **-Line Break-**

After a few minutes, Percy and Medusa arrived at the River of Fire, the Phlegethon. The liquid fire rolled downstream just as water would have, tumbling into rapids and crashing against the shores. The sight brought back memories for Percy, remembering when he and Annabeth fell into Tartarus together and survived the trek to the Doors of Death, drinking from the river in order to sate their hunger. He wondered what she was doing now. Did she believe the Olympian's lies and now hated him? Or was she mourning his banishment with the rest of his friends? The thoughts almost brought tears to Percy's eyes, but he soon shook the thoughts out and returned his attention to the river.

"So how are we going to use this? It would be pretty ineffective trying to scoop up the flames with our bare hands and try to fling it at it." Medusa said matter-of-factly.

The statement actually brought a small smile to Percy's face. Even if she didn't mean it, Medusa was able to make a joke in such a stressful situation.

"Don't worry about it, I think I have this covered." Percy said confidently, even when he wasn't sure if his powers over rivers would correlate with a river made of fire. He quickly sent a silent prayer to Hestia that this would work. Percy concentrated on lifting the flames from the river and he felt the familiar tug in his gut. With a lift of his hand, the liquid flames launched out of the river and swirled into a ball right above his outstretched hand.

Both Percy and Medusa's eyes widened in amazement.

"How did you do that. Poseidon's domain wouldn't be able to control fire even if it came from a river." Her mouth slightly agape at the demigods control.

While still surprised, a smile appeared on Percy's face. "I'm not even sure how it works, but at this moment I don't care. We've got a Hydra whose ass needs a beating."

Medusa couldn't help but smile as well. This demigod was unlike any she had met before. He was interesting.

"I agree." She said determined.

After both smiling for a brief moment, Percy then turned his attention to Medusa's wound, still leaking out golden blood.

"We should cauterize that as well" pointing towards her left shoulder. "I mean since were here and we could stop the bleeding."

Medusa's smile left her face and she glared suspiciously at Percy.

"Don't think I fully trust you demigod, how can I know you won't attempt something. You could have some motive to kill me." She spat.

Percy met her glare with his own, before it softened. He could understand what she was thinking. They were supposed to be enemies, why wouldn't she be suspicious of him.

"I swear on the Styx that I only want to stop the bleeding of your wound." He sounded sincere. Thunder boomed from the distance.

Medusa's glare didn't leave her face, but she slowly nodded.

"Fine, but if you attempt anything, I'll run my blade through your heart before turning you into stone." She said seriously.

Percy just quickly nodded before summoning some of the liquid flames from the river into his hand.

"This may hurt, I'm just warning you." Before he placed his hand on her stub, the flesh sizzling and crackling as it was charred.

Medusa winced slightly, but didn't let out a sound as Percy cauterized her wound. She wasn't going to show weakness to a demigod. Percy removed his hand from her newly scorched shoulder, before looking into her mesmerizing emerald orbs.

"All good?" he asked a little warily, afraid that she might be angry for causing her pain.

Medusa was silent at first, but finally a small smile appeared on her face.

"I guess so."

Percy was taken aback by her smile. Even as a monster, she was somehow seriously beautiful. Percy quickly shook the thought out of his head.

"Well that's good then." He said, trying his best not to stammer. "Do you think you'll still be able to fight?"

Medusa scoffed at the question. "I lost an arm, not my head. Don't underestimate me for being weak, demigod."

They both couldn't help but grin at her remark. But the smiles instantly left when they heard a viscous roar, the sound of the monster's stomps sounding closer and closer with every passing second. As the duo turned around, they found the Lernaean Hydra about a football field's length away, charging fast like a rampaging bull.

Medusa and Percy looked at each other, both nodding and pulling out their weapons. Luckily for Percy, it seemed his trusty sword Riptide would follow him anywhere, even to the depths of Hell.

"Ok, were both going to attack head on, and when one of us cuts off a head I'll quickly cauterize the neck."

Medusa just nodded her head, silently saying that she got the plan.

When Percy turned around to face the Hydra again, he was surprised when he was rapidly headbutted in the middle of his chest and launched in the air, landing dangerously close to the banks of the Phlegethon. How in the name of Hades did that monster cover so much ground so quickly?

Percy didn't dwell on his thoughts though as he leapt back into action. He lifted his shirt once again to cover his airways from the toxic gas produced by the beast. While the monster attacked both of them simultaneously, Percy and Medusa kept up a solid defense by blocking and dodging nearly every strike. Percy ducked under one head before blocking the teeth of another off to his left. But with his side exposed, one of the heads zipped in to take a bite of his ribs. Expecting pain, Percy clenched his eyes shut. But when nothing came, his eyes snapped open to see a sharp scimitar impaled in the ground like a knife on a cutting board. The head that was about to take a chunk out of him severed from its neck which was wildly whipping around. His wide eyes met his savior's, the emerald orbs looking straight into his sea green.

"What are you waiting for idiot!" Medusa nearly screamed. "Use your powers and make sure this thing grows no heads instead of two!"

That snapped Percy out of his shock and he immediately summoned the liquid fire, shooting straight towards the severed neck. As the fire charred the area, the other six heads howled out in pain, before their savage eyes turned back to them.

"One down, six more to go." Percy muttered under his breath.

Percy and Medusa continued dodging, parrying, and cauterizing 5 more heads until all that was left was the center one. From what Percy remembered, the center head was supposed to be immortal, but Hercules was able to defeat it due to a blessed sword. Percy hoped that Riptide was blessed some way or another, and brought the sword down onto the neck of the remaining head, only for it to bounce harmlessly off.

The last bit of hope from Percy's eyes was slowly disappearing. He and Medusa were both worn out, barely able to keep up with anymore attacks. If they weren't going to be able to cut the final head off, then sooner or later they would be killed because of their exhaustion.

 _Fire_

Percy almost missed the quiet, yet deep and menacing voice that sounded in his head.

 _Use the Fire and you will survive…_

It was like a whisper, as if a ghost was talking to him. A very evil and intimidating sounding ghost. Percy tried to contemplate what the voice was saying. Was it saying to use the fire from the river? But wouldn't that just anger the monster? It wouldn't be able to kill it; the head would have to be chopped off.

But Percy didn't have time to think about it, any longer and he and Medusa would die. With the majority of his leftover strength, Percy summoned the liquid flames from the river. A wall of fire, standing 30 feet high and twice the length in width rose up behind him. A look of fear appeared on the last head of the Hydra, as the wall illuminated its face. With a disgruntled roar, Percy launched the wall towards the monster, covering it head-to-toe in flames. A fierce screech of pain sounded from within the flames, before it became silent. Once the fire dissipated, all that remained was a large pile of golden dust.

Percy dropped to his knees, too tired to even stand. He was about to fall to his face before he was caught by a single arm. Medusa slithered in front of him and kept him upright.

"Looks like you did it demigod." Her words holding no animosity. She was truly surprised, and impressed. Never had she seen a demigod wield so much power, nor have such a strange yet interesting personality such as his.

"We did it." Percy insisted, still breathing heavily. "Without your help, I would have been dead meat."

Medusa raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think you're not dead meat now with you vulnerable like this and me still having some strength?"

Percy looked scared for a second, but his expression softened. "Because when we first arrived at the Phlegethon, you showed that you were still human inside. You only act cruel because you're bitter at the Gods for turning you into what you are. You're different, I can tell." He said calmly and determined.

Medusa looked at Percy in surprise. She had never met a mortal who wasn't scared of her, or someone who actually tried speaking to her. Before she could say anything, Percy spoke up again.

"Look, I understand if you still hate me. I mean I did send you back to this Gods forsaken place." He said, pointing around at the red, barren landscape. "But I can tell that you don't wish to live this life, to be hated and hunted." Percy's eyes darkened before he continued. "I swear on the Styx that if you help me, I will help you get revenge on the Olympians, bring them to justice for all there crimes." Thunder rumbling in the distance.

If possible, Medusa's eyes widened further, showing her surprise. The demigod had just sworn an unbreakable oath to get revenge on those who she despised most.

"What could I possibly help you with that would make you make such a promise?" She asked, still trying to process what was happening.

Percy smiled a crooked grin. "All I want is for you to swear to help me get out of this pit, and I will aid you in destroying the Olympians, once and for all."

Medusa just slowly nodded her head. "I swear on the Styx to help you get out of Tartarus." Thunder booming once again.

Percy continued to smile before he suddenly dropped forward atop the unsuspecting gorgon, unconscious, out like the dead. The adrenaline from the fight leaving his system, and the tiring day catching up to him.

While surprised and a bit angry, Medusa couldn't help but smile down at the unconscious male, drool somehow already hanging off the side of his mouth.

'What an interesting demigod' she thought to herself.

 **AN: There we go, chapter 3 down, many more chapters to go. What was the weird voice that Percy heard? What's going on between Percy and Medusa?**

 **I really liked how the chapter turned out, but at the end I kind of felt like I was burning out. Do you guys think I took it to fast between the 2 characters again? Let me know! What were things you liked? Disliked? Want more/less of?**

 **Anyways I hoped you enjoyed and I will see you in Chapter 4!**


	4. Tinted Cheeks

**AN: Hey guys! I wanna say my bad for not getting a chapter out sooner. I tried to on the 2** **nd** **but I didn't like how messy it was because I was rushed. Then I went on Spring Break where I had zero connection to the internet. So, this is what I was able to get out before I felt too bad. This was actually supposed to be paired with another piece that was going to make this chapter closer to 4,000 words (A LOT FOR ME), but I still can't get the second half to the point where I feel it will meet my and your expectations. So another 2,500ish word chapter which is still nice. But, you may be disappointed cause this is more of a filler chapter, it contains a little bit of development between Percy and Medusa so that's good I guess.**

 **Another thing. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FAVORITES, FOLLOWS, AND ESPECIALLY THE REVIEWS! WOW! This story doubled and more for each category all cause of chapter 3. I'm glad most of you liked it (I think). I want to give specific shout outs to the reviewers:**

 **Perseusberserker (Again thank you!)**

 **BurntMacNcheese**

 **Son of Hades1**

 **And the 3 guests: Hexagon Boy, Brutus, and the Anonymous person.**

 **Thank you to all of you, the reviews really mean a lot and I'm glad you guys are liking the story.**

 **Anyways, less rant, more story. Here is Chapter 4 and as always, Third Person POV:**

What does a demigod have to do to in order to stay conscious for more than an hour? Apparently fighting one of the most famous monsters in Greek History was not one of the options.

Once again, Percy woke up, not knowing where he was besides being in Tartarus. His body ached. A lot. His muscles were constricted as if they had just gone through an intense full-body workout. But, he was happy to find that his movement wasn't restricted this time.

When he came to his senses, he was first hit with an excessive dry taste in his mouth. He was extremely parched, it felt like sand had ran across his tongue and he didn't have the water to wash it out. When he finally looked around, he only saw rocky, dry, blood red walls that surrounded him from all sides. All except for a small hole where a faint glow was emitted from, seemingly leading out of his rocky room. Percy stood up from his spot, stretched his arms behind his back and rolled his shoulders. He was sore, but luckily, he hadn't received any major wounds, just a few scratches and bruises, in his battle against the hydra.

Not like Medusa.

Percy froze, as the thought of the gorgon brought back the memories of what happened before he fell unconscious. He remembered the events of her fighting the hydra before her arm was ripped off, him deciding to save her, using the Phlegethon to cauterize the heads, him defeating the monster with a wall of flames, and finally, him and Medusa making unbreakable promises to help each other defeat the Olympians.

 _Wow_. Perch thought to himself. _What. A. Day._

As Percy continued to dwell on his thoughts, he crouched down and shimmied through the small hole. It led him to another area, almost twice the size as the one he was in previously, but looking the same with its red walls. The air was still dry and the majority of the space was covered with a rock ceiling. At the far end from where Percy stood, a dim red light illuminated the entrance to the cave-like space, leading out to what probably was the wasteland that Tartarus was.

It was completely silent, except for a light crackle that he heard off to his side. When he looked, he saw a small, but bright, fire being tended to by his gorgon acquaintance. She sat there next to the fire, her tail coiled up as she sat on the ground. Her usually slithering snakes nested atop her head, sleeping lightly with light hisses.

Percy wasn't sure what he should do, but decided to slowly approach her, not sure what her reaction to him would be. He was standing fairly close, about two feet away, but neither individual said a word to each other.

After a few moments, Percy decided to interrupt the uncomfortable silence.

"Um, Good morning I guess." Percy said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Medusa barely acknowledged him. "Actually it's still night time, at least in Tartarus it is." she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh." was all Percy said at first, fiddling with his fingers, his ADHD kicking in during the awkward situation. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to strike a conversation with her, he didn't even know how they were supposed to treat each other now that they were essentially partners.

"How can you tell?" was what he settled to say.

Medusa just shrugged her shoulders, making Percy notice the charred stump that used to be her left arm. "I guess being down here for so long, I just got used to the time. Plus…" She said boringly, while referencing to her head of sleeping serpents, "I think something about being a monster just allows me to be used to this filthy place." an almost unnoticeable scowl appearing on her face.

Even though she wasn't looking at him, Percy gave Medusa a look of understanding. He knew that she didn't want pity, especially not from him, a son of the man she thought she had loved. It was obvious that she didn't want to be a monster, who would? Like him, she had felt the wrath of the Olympians, and because of it, she had been suffering for thousands of years.

"Do you hate your appearance?" Percy asked calmly, but still a little warily.

Medusa's eyes snapped to his before they narrowed.

"Of course I do. What do you expect?" her tone was sharp and clear, as if implying the question he just asked was obviously stupid. Which in all honesty, it probably was, except for the fact that Percy thought that she looked fine, especially for a "monster". Unconsciously, he had been observing her facial features, seeing as how this was the first time he didn't feel threatened in her presence. The sleeping bronze and gold serpents on her head made it look like she had glimmering short, curled, dirty-blonde hair. Her slightly green tinted skin reminded him of the many nymphs he had seen in Camp Half-blood. But of course, it was her captivating emerald eyes that stole the show. He had never seen a pair that contained so much intensity.

He didn't know how she looked appealing when he knew that from the stories, and from seeing her himself in the world above, that she was supposed to be hideous.

 _I should ask her about that sometime._ Percy thought to himself.

While leaving his previous thoughts, Percy shrugged to answer her question. "I don't know, I guess I thought it would be kind of cool to be able to say that I have snakes for hair." He said, trying to somewhat lighten the tense air.

Medusa softened at his response, gently stroking one of the sleeping serpents.

"I don't resent these little ones." Her eyes giving off a look of affection, a look that reminded Percy of an expression he constantly saw on his mother. "It's not their fault that I have been cursed this way. In fact, they are probably the only reason I am still sane. Without them, I have no one."

A delicate silence fell between the two before Medusa brought up the plan for escaping Tartarus, obviously wanting to move away from their previous discussion. Percy was shocked at her answer, not expecting what she had said. He wanted to say something, something comforting, but just didn't know what. It wasn't like he was her friend, they were just acquaintances with the same agenda.

"You best rest up while you can, tomorrow we have a long journey." She said, interrupting his thoughts.

Percy nodded. "So, how long did you say this was going to take?" he asked. "A month?"

Medusa just scoffed, holding back a mocking laugh at the demigod's ignorance.

"If it only took a month to escape this Hell, why don't you think me and every monster here has left already?"

Percy thought about her statement for longer than it should of taken. "Wait, so how long is 'long' then?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Try two millennia."

Percy eyes bugged out of his head, Medusa thought for sure they were coming out.

"TWO THOUSAND YEARS? What kind of minotaur crap is this? It took Annabeth and I less than a month to escape Tartarus." He yelled out.

Medusa's eyes narrowed, the once sleeping serpents on her head waking up due to the sound. "When you were in Tartarus, it was being controlled by Gaia and her minions. They placed the Doors of Death at a convenient location so they could get more monsters out, but now, with the doors back in control of the Gods, we have to find them."

Percy had trouble processing the information, but had a feeling that she was right. A feeling of dejection washed over him. His shoulders slumped and he dropped down against one of the dry, red walls, his head falling in between his pulled-up knees.

 _Two thousand years._ He kept thinking to himself.

 _Two thousand years before he would get out of Tartarus, before he would get revenge on the Olympians, before he would see his friends again._

But one thought in particular brought tears to his eyes. He would never see his parents again, his mom and step-dad. He never got to say goodbye to them. He was taken by Hera where for almost the next year he was fighting in the Giant War. Even after the fighting was over, he didn't have the chance to go see her. The last thing they would hear of him was that he was a traitor to Olympus.

Unwanted tears began to well up in Percy's eyes, uncontrollable to him.

Medusa watched as Percy silently cried. She didn't know what his story was, but she understood the emotions he was experiencing. Despair, hopelessness, misery; someone who had lost everything and didn't know what to do about it. She had gone through the same when she was cursed by Athena.

She put a calming hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest, we will head out in the morning." Before she slithered away to a different area of the cave system.

 **-Line Break-**

Medusa woke to the sound of clanging metal. The high frequency tones vibrated through the caverns, echoing off the walls.

She instantly tensed and she tried to use her senses to determine what the sound was coming from. Cautiously, she exited her small cave into the larger room, her scimitar gripped in her only hand ready to strike any possible enemies. When she finally found the source of the noise, she let her guard down, re-sheathing her blade back to the side of her waist. Percy stood there next to the previous night's flames, viciously hacking away on the red walls with his celestial bronze sword. As she approached him, she caught a brief glance of his face. His longish, raven black hair hung low on his face, partially covering up his sea green orbs. His eyes themselves were filled with intense emotions of anger and rage, his eyebrows were scrunched above them, and there were small bags underneath them. He probably hadn't slept at all after she had left him.

"Percy." She called out softly.

He either didn't hear her, or just refused to listen as his strikes continued on the wall, which he had made a considerable dent in.

"Percy." She said louder but still in a soft tone. The hacking on the wall stopped, and Percy barely turned his head to face her, his body still facing the wall.

"Are you okay?" She asked sincerely, trying to look into his sea green orbs that were slightly blocked off due to his hair. He looked at her with an emotionless mask. "I'm fine. Is it time to leave yet?" he asked rushed.

Medusa nodded her head, sighing a bit, but continue to push the subject. "Look Percy, I know what you're going through." She said plainly. "I know that you're in a dark place right now but it will pass. You will learn to cope with it."

Percy emotionless eyes filled with slight anguish at Medusa's words and he averted his eyes to the ground. He knew that she had gone through what he was experiencing, but it was still difficult to come to terms with it.

"I just don't know what to do now, I've lost everything." He said dejectedly.

 _Smack_.

Percy didn't even register the hand to his face until a few seconds after the hit. He looked up, his hand resting on his left cheek, to see the angry eyes of a gorgon.

"What's with that attitude? What do you mean you don't know what to do?" she asked sternly. "You're the Two Time Savior of Olympus, bane of Titans, Giants, and Primordials and you're going to sit here and mope? Do what you planned to do, what you promised to _me_. Even if it takes us two millennia, we are getting out of this Hell hole, that is the promise I swore to you. After that, you are going to keep the promise you made to me." She said before her tone switched to one of confidence.

"The Olympians did this to you." pointing at him. "They will learn that they are not almighty, that their word is not law, and that they cannot treat us any way they want. We will bring them down…" her face and voice softening and her hand reached out in between them in a handshake gesture.

"Together." She finished with a small smile appearing on her face.

Percy was at a loss of words, just staring at Medusa in shock, his mouth slightly agape. Her mini spiel carried so much emotion and inspiration, he couldn't help but feel affected by her words. After a short while, his signature crooked grin along with a look of determination in his eyes replaced the one of shock and he reached out and grabbed her hand, shaking it lightly to complete the handshake.

"You're completely right, now is not the time for me to be weak. Thank you." He said sincerely.

Medusa's smile widened a bit on her face. "Of course I'm right, you should learn that I always am." She said a little teasingly.

Percy just rolled his eyes and they both began laughing at her remark. Their laughter died down after a while and they stood there looking into each other's eyes with warm smiles on their faces.

Soon though, they realized that their hands were still connected, somehow now with their fingers interlocked rather than a handshake. They quickly released each other's hand and turned to face opposite directions.

"S-so we're heading out now?" Percy stammered, a blush evident on his slightly tanned face.

"Yep." Was all Medusa said, still not looking at him, before slithering towards the exit of the cavern into the harsh landscape of Tartarus, a small dark green tint residing on her cheeks.

 **AN: There you go, Chapter 4!**

 **Again, more of a filler (sorry bout that), but Chapter 5 is mostly completed and just needs to be edited so it sounds Gucci. A little bit more interaction in the Percy x Medusa relationship and we'll see what happens from here. Don't worry, I don't plan to take it too fast (I'm looking at you Perseusberseker! Jk).**

 **Anyways, hoped you enjoyed. Review and all that, things that were good, things that need to be adjusted, all that jam and stuff. I'll try my best to get Chapter 5 out this weekend and I really want to try to get on a weekly schedule. Do not hold me to my word though cause I got a lot coming up with AP tests and studying.**

 **See you in the Next Chapter!**


	5. Meet the Father

**AN: IM BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

 **IM SO SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE MILENIA. I said I would release chapter five over the weekend chapter four came out and now it's pretty much a month later. Nice going me. But do not worry anymore. I am not abandoning this story because it has so much potential. I finally finished all my APs so that was great! SCREW YOU CALCULUS! I also was going through a bit of a writer's block because I wasn't really sure where I wanted this story to go. I now have a bit of an idea where the next few chapters are going.**

 **ALSO, my request to have Medusa added as a character for PJO was accepted, so I can officially have a [Percy, Medusa] Tag! Which is awesome.**

 **Again, thank you so much everyone who is continuing reading this story and everyone who started following and favoriting after chapter 4 came out! Checking out the numbers and I saw that since chapter 4 was uploaded, 20 new people favorited and 44 new people followed! Beautiful numbers and I really appreciate it guys.**

 **Also 9 reviews! A special thanks to everyone who reviewed, I usually respond to the reviews via PM, but if you want me to answer them in the AN of the next chapter, just let me know.**

 **Anyways, let us begin this long-awaited chapter and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **Third Person POV as always:**

 **-Line Break-**

 **Previously:**

Soon though, they realized that their hands were still connected, somehow now with their fingers interlocked rather than a handshake. They quickly released each other's hand and turned to face opposite directions.

"S-so we're heading out now?" Percy stammered, a blush evident on his slightly tanned face.

"Yep." Was all Medusa said, still not looking at him, before slithering towards the exit of the cavern into the harsh landscape of Tartarus, a small dark green tint residing on her cheeks.

 **-Line Break-**

 **Time Skip 3 Years: 1997 Years Remaining**

It had been an interesting three years.

Percy was now 20 years old, his previous swimmer's build now filled in with more muscle as to adapt to the severe conditions of Tartarus. He had reached his full height of 6'3 making his worn-out t-shirt and jeans too tight for him to wear. Instead, he now wore baggy, tan, cargo shorts and a dirty, white shirt, both of which he had stolen from a group of cyclops. He kept his shaggy black hair as it always was, a little long, so that it rested on his eyebrows. Riptide was stashed away in one of his pockets until it was needed.

Medusa on the other hand hadn't changed at all. She still carried a sharp scimitar that was strapped to her left hip so her right hand could grab it quickly and efficiently. Her left arm was still gone but it never hindered her movements anymore. To Percy, her face was still as striking as ever, with her shimmering gold, bronze hair, or snakes, and her beautiful emerald eyes. Of course, he'd never let her know that.

The two had been traveling together and other than the occasional skirmish they had with other monsters, everything had gone as smoothly as things could go in Tartarus. They had told each other their stories, Medusa talking about her years before and after she became a monster, and Percy telling her about his childhood all the way up to his banishment. Both were impressed and sorrowful for the other's life story, realizing that they had been through circumstances no one should have to face.

They had become trustworthy partners, knowing how the other operated within battle and able to have each other's back. Yet they still weren't sure if they considered themselves friends. After the events within the cave three years prior, they weren't very sure how to act with each other, keeping their relationship strictly business. Since then, they had followed the Phlegethon, mainly because it was the only reliable food source they had.

"So only 1997 years remaining, huh." Percy simply stated as they continued to move along the rocky shores.

The sudden comment made Medusa turn quizzically towards her demigod companion. "You make it sound like that's in a week. You know we're going to be down here for what feels like forever. Right?" Medusa replied.

"Hey, you gotta have a glass half-full attitude. Otherwise you're going to be miserable." He rebutted.

Medusa just rolled her eyes. "Kind of hard to think that way when we're in Hell. We drink fire for God's sake."

Percy pouted at that. "Fine, be a party pooper."

They continued walking in a comfortable silence, learning that they both liked to think to themselves sometimes.

Percy began to recount his three years in Tartarus. Looking back, he was relieved that he had met Medusa. Without her, he probably would have been caught by some grudgeful monster and tortured eternally, especially since he couldn't exactly die anymore as an immortal, which actually had always confused Percy. He found it weird that even as an immortal, he was still growing and aging as any human would have. Maybe the Gods were hoping he would grow old and weak and become easy prey to the horrors of the pit?

Not wanting to think about being tortured anymore, he began thinking about his travel companion. Medusa was much different from what he had read and been told at Camp. She was actually a very easygoing person…or monster. Albeit she had her moments of stubbornness and sarcasm, but that was only because she had millennia's worth of time of grudges towards the Gods and their children. Something about her smart or negative remarks just seemed to appeal to Percy, it gave her personality.

After a few minutes of dwelling in his thoughts, their silence was bluntly interrupted by a large thumping sound. Instinctively, the two drew their weapons, knowing that anything in Tartarus had the probability of killing them. The thumping got louder and louder, seemingly shaking the rocky ground underneath their feet. Turning around, Percy and Medusa could see the outline of a 20-foot humanoid figure barreling towards them off in the distance. Medusa got into a defensive stance, crouching down a bit and bringing her tail closer to her body, but Percy squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the being. It looked…familiar.

His eyes widened when he noticed reptilian legs that led up to a human torso and head. Fear coursed through Percy, it was a Giant. He had had his fill of slaying Giants during the last war, and he knew that here in Tartarus, there would be no way for him and Medusa to take one down. They needed a God for that.

He quickly turned to Medusa, "We need to get out of here NOW!"

She promptly nodded and they began sprinting off in the opposite direction.

They ran as quickly as they could, but they only heard the stomps get louder and louder. They looked over their shoulders, only to see the Giant running towards them, and quickly gaining ground. They knew they weren't going to get away and silently decided that they would be in for a fight. They quickly whipped around and held up their weapons. With the Giant about twenty feet away, Percy lifted his arms, a wave of fire flew out of the Phlegethon and launched it at their pursuer. He quietly prayed to Hestia that the Giant would be defeated like the Hydra had been years ago, he hadn't needed to use the river since then. The fire crashed into the Giant and engulfed him in flames, relieving the two swordsmen for the moment. That moment though soon disappeared when they heard an annoyed shout come from within the fire before two huge hands reached out of the flames and grabbed them.

They heard a deep, amused laugh before a face came out of the flames as well.

"Is that how you treat and old friend now Percy? A wave a fire to the face?" the red-skinned Giant said with a smile, his dreadlocks hanging low on his head.

Percy eyes widened in surprise and shock, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as he couldn't find any words to say.

"Don't tell me you forgot about me! Did you lose your memory just as Iapetus did?" Damasen asked, his smile still on his face.

Percy was surprised for a couple more seconds until a huge grin appeared onto his face.

"Damasen!" he yelled out in joy. "It's so good to see you! What are you doing here? Where's Bob?"

The Giant chuckled at his friend's reaction. "It's good to see you too. Iapetus is doing fine, we both are."

Percy nodded profusely. "But that doesn't explain how you're here now." he said confused.

"Actually, Bob and I live very close to here, along with a friend who really wants to meet you. He's the one who sent me here to come get you actually."

Percy raised an eyebrow at this. "Who wants to see me?"

"Can't tell you, he said he wanted to tell you his identity face to face."

Percy kept his eyebrow raised, a little suspicious as to why Damasen wouldn't tell him, but caved in eventually. "Well if they're a friend of you and Bob then I guess it should be alright."

Damasen nodded with his smile before he began walking off into a direction that diverted away from the river.

"So Percy…" Damasen said with an eyebrow raised. "Got yourself a new girlfriend? And with a gorgon, interesting choice in companionship."

Both Percy and Medusa blushed, Percy's clearly evident on his face while Medusa tried to hide it.

"No I do not!" Percy said defensively, still blushing. "She and I are just acquaintances with a similar goal in mind."

Damasen just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Whatever you say Percy."

Percy huffed as a silence overcame the three.

After a while though, Percy asked Damasen a question.

"Umm Damasen. You think you could let go of us now?" Percy asked a little awkwardly.

"It'll be faster if I carry you." The Giant said simply, shrugging his shoulders, but he let go of Percy and Medusa anyways.

As the trio continued to walk, Percy and Medusa fell in behind Damasen.

"Can we trust him?" Medusa asked hushed.

Percy thought for a moment but slowly nodding his head. "It's weird that he is being so secretive, but Damasen is a peaceful being and my friend, I don't think he would betray me."

The trio walked for another ten minutes before Damasen suddenly stopped.

"We're here." He said.

Percy and Medusa looked around Damasen's huge, reptilian legs but saw nothing except for the continued wasteland of the pit.

"Where exactly are we?" Medusa asked suspiciously. "There is nothing here."

"That's where you're wrong miss." Damasen plainly stated. He reached out in front of him, his arms parallel to his body and facing opposite directions as he gripped onto something invisible. In a pulling motion, his arms extended outward as he seemed to pull apart two invisible doors. Once they were wide enough for him to fit through, he stepped in and disappeared from sight.

Percy and Medusa just looked at the space where the Giant used to be with wide eyes and open jaws. They looked at each other, trying to see if they both had just seen the same thing. After a moment, with a nod from both, they stepped into the invisible doors.

When the reappeared on the other side, they were met with the largest palace either had ever seen, spanning out at least a thousand acres. It was made out of black obsidian, dark as night, and adorned with silver marble columns. Fire burned bright on three tips that made up the highest points of the structure. The building reminded Percy of Hades' Palace, but three times the size. What being could possible own a home so large?

"Impressive, isn't it?" Damasen knocked Percy and Medusa out of their thoughts. "This place would make even Athena drool for its architecture." He grinned.

The mention of the Goddess of Wisdom brought a scowl to both Medusa and Percy's face, but they quickly wiped it off when Damasen told them to follow him. They passed through what they assumed to be the gardens, decorated with silver marble archways and paths. The flower beds contained a variety of different shaded red and black flowers. They continued walking through the gardens until they reached the palace entrance, standing in front of doors that were probably close to 30 feet tall. Damasen pushed forwards opening the doors, swinging them inwards, making them groan due to the amount of weight they possessed.

Stepping in, they admired the beautifully sculpted interior. Damasen was right, this architecture would have made even Athena faint. Red chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, the black walls provided an appealing contrast to the silver marbled floor and black furniture decorated most empty spaces. They continued walking for a couple minutes until they seemed to reach the middle of the palace.

In front of them were two gigantic, shimmering, red doors, plenty tall enough to fit even Damasen. Percy and Medusa became hesitant of their situation, as they both felt the aura emitted from the other side of the doors. It felt ancient, and extremely powerful. They knew that they were about to meet an immortal being, they just weren't sure whether it would end up being a good or bad thing.

"Well it's time for you to meet him." Damasen said with a smile. He easily pushed the doors open and they walked into the center of the throne room. Across from them stood a red throne, about as tall as Damasen. It seemed to continually shift, showing off the screams of agonized souls and tortures that haunted dreams. Percy shuttered at the sight, it reminded him of a much larger, creepier version of Hades throne. But he completely froze once he heard a deep, dark voice.

"Welcome Perseus Jackson. It's quite the honor having such a famed demigod visit my home." The voice said with amusement.

Percy gripped his pen and let it spring into Riptide, getting into a defensive stance. Right next to him Medusa did the same.

"W-who are you." He stammered, looking around him for any trace of another presence.

The voice deeply laughed. "No need to fear demigod, I did not bring you here to kill you, quite the opposite actually."

"You don't need to worry Percy, my father is a pretty cool guy, he actually saved us when Iapetus and I closed the doors of dea…" Damasen drifted to a stop as he realized he just revealed the anonymous speaker.

"I guess I should reveal myself now." The deep voice sighed a bit in disappointment for having his surprise spoiled.

Percy stood there for a moment, clearly confused. "Wait, how did Damasen reveal who you were, all he said was his father was a cool guy…"

Then it hit him like a train. Father of Damasen? Damasen is a giant, meaning his mother was Gaia and his father was…

At that moment, a tall figure appeared in front of Percy, standing about 6'5 with dark, red hair that was slightly spiked up. He wore a form-fitting black suit with a dark red tie and looked to be in his mid-40s. But it was his eyes that made Percy freeze, the red pupils were swirling around like churning gravel.

The man held out his hand towards Percy in a handshake gesture.

"The name's Tartarus, Primordial God of the Pit." a crooked smile plastered onto his face.

 **AN: Boom Shakalaka. You might have already guessed midway through because of the chapter title and the context, but that's ok. Tartarus is now involved and what will he want with Percy and Medusa? Let me know how this chapter was, I thought it may have been a little rough on the edges just because I haven't written in a while. Also, do you guys like the "previously" section. I know for those who like to binge read stories, *raises hand*, that they can get a bit annoying, but I think they're nice if I haven't read the last chapter in a while.**

 **Anyways, I really hoped you enjoyed, and I WILL TRY MY BEST TO START MAKING THIS STORY A MORE FREQUENTLY UPDATED STORY. See you later!**


	6. Understanding Dad

**AN: Wow. Would you look at that. I actually got a chapter out when I said I would. AMAZING! Anyways, welcome back to Heart of Stone and I hope you're ready for Chapter 6, cause it's a good one. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and that's probably the main reason why it is coming out so quickly after last chapter. Thank you all again for the huge amount of support. Especially the reviewers, I love rereading your guy's comments cause it makes me feel good inside. I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying the story!**

 **Anyways, on to the chapter and I'll see you at the post chapter AN. I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it.**

 **Third Person POV:**

 **Previously:**

At that moment, a tall figure appeared in front of Percy, standing about 6'5 with dark, red hair that was slightly spiked up. He wore a form-fitting black suit with a dark red tie and looked to be in his mid-40s. But it was his eyes that made Percy freeze, the red pupils were swirling around like churning gravel.

The man held out his hand towards Percy in a handshake gesture.

"The name's Tartarus, Primordial God of the Pit." a crooked smile plastered onto his face.

 **-Line Break-**

Percy and Medusa didn't know how to react.

In front of them stood the very being who owned the pit they were trapped inside of. The third being to ever grace the universe after Chaos and Gaia. The one that struck fear into all, including the Olympians.

To say that Percy and Medusa weren't scared would have been more than a lie, it would have been more like a broken oath of the Styx.

Trembling, Medusa quickly lowered her head in a bow, with Percy closely following suit, getting down onto one knee.

While keeping her head level to the ground, Medusa spoke. "L-lord Tartarus, w-what an honor to meet you." Medusa had trouble getting the words out. It was the first time a being had intimidated her as much as this moment.

Tartarus just frowned at their actions. "Get up, get up." He said, waving his hand, motioning upwards. "You need not bow to me, I am much more easygoing than rumors make me out to be."

Percy and Medusa slowly came out of their bows, but were still very wary of the powerful primordial.

"Much better! You can cut the crap with formalities, I don't need to be pampered like those pompous Olympians." Tartarus stated simply.

Even in the confusing situation, Percy couldn't help but allow a small smirk to develop on his face as he heard Tartarus bad mouth his enemies.

"Yes, no need to worry Percy." Damasen intervened out of nowhere. "Father would only like to talk, he has nothing against you or your girlfriend." He said, casually pointing towards Medusa with his arms crossed.

At the mention of girlfriend, both Percy and Medusa blushed as they did on the way to Tartarus' Palace. Before either could deny the statement, Tartarus joined in as well.

"Girlfriend?" he asked interested. "A relationship with a gorgon, especially one as famous as Medusa, interesting." He said talking to himself. He then turned towards Medusa. "You are indeed a very powerful monster with much experience from being alive so long. You might have actually made my plan that much more exceptional! He exclaimed.

Percy and Medusa were still blushing slightly because of the situation, but confused looks overtook their faces as they had trouble following what Tartarus was talking about.

"Uh, excuse me Lord Tartarus, what is the plan you are talking about? Is that the reason we are here in the first place?" Percy asked a bit timidly.

Holding up one finger, Tartarus said, "First of all, no "Lord Tartarus". I hate formalities." To which Percy quickly nodded in fear as to say he understood. Then holding up a second finger he continued, "Second, to answer your questions, yes you are here because I have a plan that I would like for you to be a part of." He said with a smile.

After a short pause, Tartarus continued speaking. "You see, I'm really not the bad guy the Olympians make me out to be, at least that's what I like to think." Tartarus started. "I mean, sure there are times where I may lose my temper and release a horde of terrible monsters from my domain to attack the mythical world above, but that's only because someone has made me _very, VERY,_ angry." He emphasized, releasing a wave of sinister energy unconsciously, making the two guests tremble a bit. "For example, my 'supposed' lover Gaia…" he said with distaste, "…and thank Chaos you made that vile woman have to reform again, tricked me and only had my children for her own selfish reasons. She took my lovely children and manipulated their minds to fight for her. Luckily my son Damasen here wasn't as dimwitted as his siblings and could see through Gaia's ploys." He said proudly of his son, patting him on his calf as that was as far he could reach in his current form.

"This is why, I have made a plan to make all my doltish children fade." He finished.

Percy and Medusa widened their eyes in shock. "You've had many children with Gaia that are some of the largest threats to Olympus, how will it be possible to get rid of all of them, forever?" Percy asked, genuinely confused, yet intrigued at the same time.

Tartarus just grinned his crooked smile. "That is why I have you two!" he exclaimed. "Luckily for us, Percy has already killed many of the Giants during the last war, and they are currently trying to reform in my domain. I can easily get rid of them. In fact…" he stood there and snapped his fingers, "it is done. The giants, except for Damasen here, are no more."

Percy, Medusa, and even Damasen just stood there with wide eyes and open mouths.

"What?" was all that Percy got out.

"They are no more." Tartarus repeated. "Nada. Dead. Gone from all existence and reside now in the void. The Giant children of Gaia and me no longer exist except for Damasen."

The three just continued to stare at Tartarus, not sure how to react. If it was that easy, why hadn't he done this earlier, when the first Giant War had ended and his children were reforming then. Anger suddenly built up within Percy when he had a struck of realization. With an enraged tone, he began questioning the God of the Pit. "IF YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT, WHY DIDN'T YOU PREVENT THE SECOND GIANT WAR? YOU COULD HAVE SAVED SO MANY LIVES THAT DIED BECAUSE OF IT." He said with a viscous glare in his eyes. To a lesser extent, he also thought about how if the war hadn't happened, he may have not been sent to Tartarus in the first place.

Tartarus just sighed. Not in annoyance, but in understanding. "I would have if I could, but because Gaia was behind it all, I wasn't allowed to interfere." He said a bit sadly. "While us Primordials may not care so much about the ancient laws as the Gods do, we still follow a set of rules that we and our mother, Chaos, have created. In order not to cause any mass destruction to the Earth from a possible war between us, we vowed not to interfere with each other's actions, unless allowed by Chaos herself." He explained calmly. "Now that Gaia is out of the picture, I have the opportunity I need to fix my mistakes."

While he didn't want to believe Tartarus' words, a part of Percy knew the primordial was right. Everything that had happened in his life, the world and its history, was all designed by fate, and there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't powerful enough, at least, not yet.

Percy sighed. "I'm sorry for blowing up on you Tartarus. I hope you will forgive my childish behavior." He said, bowing his head down low in shame.

Tartarus gave him an empathetic smile. "Raise your head Percy, I understand that you have suffered a hard fate. But this is why I am here to give you an opportunity to change it, to give you the power you need in order to achieve your goal."

Percy's head perked up right away at the mention of achieving his goal. "What do you mean? Are you saying you can give me the power to destroy the Olympians?" He asked seriously.

Tartarus just smiled. "Not just you, your girlfriend too." He said while pointing back and forth between Percy and Medusa. "I need both of you in order to enact my plan."

Color rose to the cheeks of Percy and Medusa again. "Umm, Tartarus, she isn't my…" Percy began to say but was soon cut off by Tartarus.

"Anyways, let me continue my plan." He said clapping his hands together. "With the Giants out of the way, that leaves two children of mine that need to be dealt with. Echidna and Typhon, the Mother and Father of all monsters." He said simply.

Once again, Percy and Medusa's faces expressed shock, it seemed like they were getting surprised quite often down in Tartarus. "How do you expect us to defeat those two monsters?" Medusa asked exasperated. "You said it yourself, they are the "Mother and Father of all monsters", they are extremely deadly and powerful. It takes all Twelve Olympians just to trap Typhon, even they cannot kill him." She argued.

Tartarus just shrugged. "Think of it as a trial run before confronting the Olympians." he rebutted. "If you can beat Echidna and Typhon, then you should easily be able to dethrone those overbearing Gods." he stated easily. "Plus, you'll be receiving a bit of help from me of course." He said with a huge grin on his face.

Percy's eyebrow slowly raised at Tartarus' statement. "How so?" he asked curiously.

"I told you, I would be giving both of you the powers you need, and by power, I mean a ton of it." A somewhat psychotic grin on his face. "How would you two like to become my champions, as well as Gods yourselves?" he asked.

Percy nearly fell flat on his face from just hearing that. 'A GOD!' he thought to himself. 'I would become a God? What powers would I receive? How strong would I be? Would I be able to face the Olympians?' his ADHD mind going into overdrive while he tried, and failed, to get a hold of his thoughts. He looked over at Medusa to see her reaction, only to see she was as frozen as one of her stone statues, with emerald eyes wide, and her mouth agape. Her lip began to tremble as she was struggling to say something.

"A-a god?" she said is disbelief. "You would give us such power? Why would you do this for us?" she asked in such a faraway tone, as if her mind was trying to still comprehend Tartarus' words.

Tartarus' grin remained on his face but his eyes softened. "I know of the hard ships both of you have endured. I know of the goals you have in mind. While this plan is a deal where you help me and I'll help you, you both deserve better lives, and I want to give them to you." He said sincerely.

Medusa could only nod, still in her state of stupor. Percy on the other hand, while still flabbergasted, had finally calmed down a bit. "You know, you're a way cooler guy than what everyone says you are." Percy said with a grin.

Tartarus' grin had somehow stretched wider, and he released a deep, hearty laugh. "That's what I've been trying to tell people this whole time! Glad to finally see some recognition!"

After a brief moment of silence, Tartarus continued to speak.

"So, I'm going to assume that it's a 'yes' to my offer." Tartarus said.

Percy and Medusa looked at each other briefly, eyes silently agreeing, before they turned back to face Tartarus and nodded their heads.

"Great!" Tartarus said. "I shall begin the process immediately. Are you ready?"

Again, Percy and Medusa nodded.

"Ok, here we go!" Tartarus yelled out excitedly. "Well I haven't done this in a while, so I'm not actually sure how this'll go." He muttered quietly under his breath, but not quite enough for Percy and Medusa not to hear him.

"Wait, wha-" the two said at the same time, but were cut off when Tartarus shot his palms forward, towards them, and they were blasted with a wave of glowing, red energy.

It wasn't like any sensation they had ever felt before. They felt so light as the energy seeped into their skin. Soon, both were lifted off the ground and completely hidden from sight as each was at the center of a swirling ball of red energy, their bodies transforming from immortal to God.

"It's nice that you were both immortal before this, makes the process a whole lot easier and quicker." Tartarus casually said outside the balls, still launching out energy from his palms.

Soon after, Tartarus ceased the ritual, and the energy dissipated from Percy and Medusa as they landed on the ground.

Percy had never felt better. He had never felt as strong, as healthy, as powerful as he did at that moment. This was the feeling of a God, the feeling of the power that would lead him to achieve his goal. A huge grin appeared on his face as he clenched his fists in excitement in front of him.

"THIS IS GREAT!" he exclaimed. He was so overjoyed that his brain didn't process in time before he flung himself at Medusa, wrapping her up in a big bear hug, his eyes close. When he realized what he had done, he froze in fear, arms still wrapped around Medusa. 'Oh crap' he thought to himself. 'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I'm so dead. I just became a God but I'm so dead now.' He dreaded. He kept his eyes tightly shut, as he waited for a fist to the face. But after a few seconds passed, and nothing had happened, he slowly began opening his eyes, squinting, still waiting for an impact. When his eyes were fully open, he was met with a head full of short, curled, bronze and gold…HAIR?

He quickly stepped back, unwrapping his arms and stared at the woman before him, dressed in elegant Greek robes. She stood as still as possible, reaching a height of about 5'8. She had beautiful, smooth porcelain skin with a bronze tint of a light tan. She stood there, unmoving, her stunning emerald green eyes wide as she stared down at the ground, where she saw appendages she hadn't seen in millennia. Two arms extended from her shoulders as both her hands rested in front of her, palms facing upwards.

There stood Medusa, the hideous gorgon who turned whoever she gazed upon into stone. Except now she was a Goddess, transformed back into the stunning beauty she was before her curse. And at that moment, Percy could now understand why his father had been so captivated by her in the first place.

 **AN: DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN. HAHAHA, bet you guys didn't see that coming! Or if you did well… props to you I guess… stop guessing the storyline. JK. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you guys thought in a review! I love hearing what you guys think. Did you like it, dislike it? I'm still trying to work on my dialog scenes a bit cause you know, conversations are hard XD. I'll pick up all the loose ends from this chapter and finish them up next chapter.**

 **I'm sorry for stopping it here but if I added anymore, the chapter would have gone on for quite a bit and I want to try keeping the chapters around the same length so that I can update consistently. Around 2000-2500 words is where I like these chapters to be. Also, I'm thinking of having a set day where I post new chapters. I would like for it to be a weekday so that I can do the majority of drafting and writing on the weekends. I was thinking Wednesdays maybe? Just tell me what you guys want and I'll try and fit it. And another thing, no one commented on the "previously" section, so I'm just gonna leave it in from now on. You guys can skip over it anyways.**

 **Again, hoped you guys enjoyed and I'll PROBABLY see you next week with another chapter! Until then!**


	7. Sleeping in the Closet

**AN: Hello everyone! Well looks like I couldn't keep my word for long. I think I'm just gonna stop promising weekly uploads and just post whenever I can. Sorry if you aren't interested in dialog, cause this is mostly what this chapter is about. I promise we'll get to see some more action starting next chapter.**

 **On another note, THANK YOU FOR THE CONTINUING SUPPORT. Once again, I received many positive comments that made me all happy inside. I really appreciate you guys taking the time and reviewing. I know it sounds a little dumb, but it would be cool if we can get to 50 total reviews considering we're at 40 right now. Also, this story just recently hit 100 Favs which is AWESOME. I honestly didn't think this story would get such great feedback.**

 **Anyways, here is chapter 7. Sorry for the wait, as my apology this chapter is actually longer than usual (a little more than 3000 words I think). Hope you enjoy.**

 **Third Person Pov:**

 **-Line Break-**

 **Previously:**

He quickly stepped back, unwrapping his arms and stared at the woman before him, dressed in elegant Greek robes. She stood as still as possible, reaching a height of about 5'8. She had beautiful, smooth porcelain skin with a bronze tint of a light tan. She stood there, unmoving, her stunning emerald green eyes wide as she stared down at the ground, where she saw appendages she hadn't seen in millennia. Two arms extended from her shoulders as both her hands rested in front of her, palms facing upwards.

There stood Medusa, the hideous gorgon who turned whoever she gazed upon into stone. Except now she was a Goddess, transformed back into the stunning beauty she was before her curse. And at that moment, Percy could now understand why his father had been so captivated by her in the first place.

 **-Line Break-**

Everything was still.

Not a single sound could be heard in the throne room of Tartarus. Instead, four beings stood motionless, three of them utterly confused and shocked, while the other stood by watching amused.

Medusa kept her eyes fixed downward. They were wide, her emerald iris' on full display, and her mouth slightly agape. Slowly, she began flexing her left hand, the one that had been gone for three years, and the one she thought she wouldn't see for many more. She squeezed her fingers a bit and watched as they gradually opened again. She admired the smooth skin, running her fingers along her arm and loving the slightly bronze glow rather than the light green she was used to.

Quickly though, her wide eyes continued down, until she was gazing at the appendages she hadn't seen in millennia. Without saying anything, she broke out into a complete sprint, racing around the throne room, jumping with joy and shouting with glee. The three other beings just watched her run around like a child, the only sound admitted being her bare feet on the cool marbled floor. She suddenly came to an abrupt stop, plopping down on the flood and, like what she did with her arm, ran her fingers across long, lost legs. Her eyes shone with elation, a wide smile on her face, the largest Percy had ever seen on his companion.

Percy, to say the least, was shocked. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do. He just stood there, seemingly frozen in one spot, looking dumb with a facial expression that could be described as confused, shocked, happy, and awed at the same time. In place of his gorgon, monster, acquaintance, was now a beautiful woman. He now knew why his dad was so enamored with her. He even thought that maybe Athena just cursed her because she was jealous of her good looks. But he quickly pushed those thoughts away, trying not to think that way about his companion, considering they had more pressing matters to deal with.

He walked over to Medusa, who was still sitting on the floor, spinning on her butt like a top with her legs extended outward. She was having way too much fun with this, Percy thought, but he guessed that it was reasonable considering how long she was without them.

"So." Percy started. "Looks like someone's having a good time." He said, not able to contain a smile.

Medusa spun around until she was facing him, the huge smile still on her face making her look like a kid in a candy shop. It was an expression Percy never in a million years expected to see grace her face.

"They're back!" she exclaimed, gesturing to her legs. "I'm back! My curse is gone!"

Before anything else was said, Tartarus intervened. "Well not quite." He simply said.

Medusa and Percy both turned their attention to the primordial, their eyes baffled and urging him to continue. He nodded his head and continued.

"Your body may have returned to its original form, but the curse still lies within you. It's just…" he paused for moment. "altered." He completed.

"What do you mean by altered." Medusa asked a bit timidly as she stood up, fearing that she hadn't escaped the grips of Athena's curse.

"Do not worry Miss. Medusa, I assure you it is nothing you need to worry about. If you'd like, I can explain it all later, but we are expecting some guests now that you both have achieved Godhood." Tartarus said.

Right after he said that, a bright light was emitted behind Percy and Medusa. They turned around, instinctively squinting their eyes at the possibility of being vaporized, only to find out that the brightness had no effect on them. Emerging from the lights stood three stunning women, all fairly short, dressed elegantly in white Greek robes. But when the light died down, they began to change, their smooth skin began shriveling up into thousands of wrinkles and the elegant robes turned dark brown and looked worn. The worst change was that all their eyes decomposed into dust with only one remaining in the right hole of the middle woman.

She spoke with an enraged tone. "Tartarus, what have you done! This was not in Fate's course."

"Hello dear nieces, how have you been? You should really just maintain your godly appearances, you look so repulsive as old hags." He stated, sounding bored.

The Fates quickly limped up to him, furious expressions on their faces. The right one spoke. "These two were not meant to become Gods, and because it was you who created them, they are neither bound by the Ancient Laws."

Tartarus just shrugged. "I didn't care for those annoying laws anyways. I see no problem with what has occurred. In fact, since you decided to drop by, why don't you give them their domains. That is in your job description, right?" he said with a sarcastic grin.

The fates just huffed at this. "You do not realize the consequences you all shall face for this action. Even we cannot foresee what is meant to happen next." The left one spoke.

"I think I know what I have done." Tartarus said with the grin still plastered on his face. "Anyways, get on with it, we don't have all day." Shooing them over to Percy and Medusa.

The Fates slowly approached the two, who were both a little tense in the presence of the three beings. The Fates then proceeded with the naming ceremony, getting down to their knees and bowing to Medusa first. I light began emitting from the eye sockets of the three sisters, somewhat like the green glow of the oracle.

Together they spoke.

"All hail Medusa, Daughter of Phorkys and Keto, Mother and Patron of Pegasus, Goddess of Curses, Serpents, and Stone."

Everyone is the room was astonished. Even the Fates had looks of dismay after they finished speaking and the glow left their eyes. Goddess of Curses, Serpents, and Stone, those weren't minor domains. Plus, the fact she was given all three meant she had to be on par with a Major God.

The fates in their stupor performed the ritual again, this time with Percy.

"All hail Perseus Jackson, Son of Sally Jackson, Abandoned Son of Poseidon, Bane of Kronos and Gaia, Patron of Heroes, God of Weaponry, Leadership, and Justice."

Like Medusa, Percy was given the power of a Major God.

After the Fates had finished, they spun back around to Tartarus, who stood there looking amused.

"Not only did you give them Godhood when it wasn't meant to be, but you gave them powers that could rival the Olympians!" They all shouted. "Are you trying to start a war?"

Tartarus stood there looking calm as ever. "No comment." was all he said.

The Fates cried out in frustration. "Don't think this is over Tartarus, your stupidity will only bring suffering." They said before flashing away.

After a moment of silence, Tartarus began speaking.

"Well that went well." he stated, walking up to the two new Gods.

Percy gave him an incredulous look. "Did it?" was all that he responded with.

"Considering that you guys are still alive means that it did. Let's just hope those pesky sisters keep their mouths shut so that our plan isn't stalled." He said with a smile. "Anyways, let's get back on track with that." He said, clapping his hands together when suddenly his face contorted in confusion. "Hmm. Where were we again?" his eyebrows furrowed and his hand on his jaw like he was deep in thought.

"Umm. We were supposed to somehow defeat Echidna and Typhon." Medusa supplied.

"Oh yes, that's it." Tartarus mused. For a primordial, he seemed way too carefree, especially one that is supposed to represent all things evil. "Typhon as you already know is trapped down here in Tartarus. While I can and have been weakening him so he can't reach his full strength, he is still much too strong of an enemy for you to face right now." He explained.

"Wait, if Typhon is down here, can't you just snap your fingers and make him fade like you did with the Giants?" Percy wondered.

"If that was the case, I would have already done that. But because he was banished here like you, and not actually killed, he isn't currently reforming. With him having a physical form, I cannot make him fade." He explained.

"So that means you want us to go after Echidna first?" Percy asked.

"Bingo. However, she's always been a shifty one. Blending in and never staying put, it will be difficult to find her." Tartarus said, again deep in thought.

"How do you suppose we get to her then?" Medusa questioned.

"Hmm. I have an idea, it may work…" he began trailing off, talking to himself more than to them.

"Well?" Percy asked, wanting him to continue.

"Well, one trait that Echidna received from her mother was a deep love for her children. It might be possible that if you are able to find and kill them all, you could lure her down here and then kill her to make her fade." He explained his plan.

"Ok, sounds simple enough. How many children does she have?" Percy asked, not really worried.

Medusa meanwhile was deep in thought, counting on her fingers until she reached eleven. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You want us to go and find eleven of the worst and deadly monsters in Greek history, and try to kill them, before we take on the mother of all monsters?" she seethed.

Tartarus pouted at that. "I mean if you say it that way… actually no, that's exactly what I'm saying. Glad you catch on quickly." He gave her a dumb grin.

Medusa began trembling in anger. "You imbecile!" she exploded. "How the Hades are you a primordial! You are so simple!" she couldn't contain her frustration.

Percy and Damasen, who had been in the room the whole time, watched with wide eyes. Neither of them had the balls to stand up to a primordial god, and here was Medusa, going off like a disappointed mother on her rebellious child.

Tartarus even seemed to play along, mocking fake sadness with tears threatening to break out from the scolding he was receiving. While this made Percy and Damasen grin widely and break out into laughter, it only made Medusa more furious.

She screamed with anger, her hands clenched madly, when suddenly, the ceiling exploded, and snakes began dropping from sky, making their way to the acting Tartarus, and coiling around him, restricting his movements. The marble floor then began rumbling and stone pillars shot out of the ground encasing the Primordial God of the Pit in a stone cage while the snakes viciously attacked him. The number of snakes was so overwhelming, that not as single section within the cage could be seen, only a continous shifting scene of snake skin.

A painful yell broke out from prison, Tartarus was yelling for help and screaming that he was sorry. His pleads broke Medusa out of her anger as she realized what she had done.

"Oh Gods, oh Gods. What have I done?" she exclaimed.

Damasen quickly ran up to the cage, trying to break the stone pillars with his bare hands but to no avail. "Do something!" he yelled.

"I'm trying, they aren't listening to me!" Medusa said while she continuously tried to stop the serpents' attack.

But in the midst of madness, the yelling from inside the cage abruptly stopped. The three beings outside stood still and silent.

"Father? Are you ok?" Damasen asked worriedly in the cage. The snakes were still swarming around, not relenting sight within its bars.

When no sound was made except for the shifting serpents, everyone feared the worst.

"D-did you just kill Tartarus?" Percy stuttered.

"I-I didn't mean too. I was angry and frustrated and I don't know what happened." She said in disbelief. "There was a tug in my gut and I just released it. I swear I didn't mean to." She looked scared, almost looking like she was going to break down into tears. She collapsed onto the floor, staring at the cage.

Percy quickly ran over to her. "Hey, its ok, it was an accident. I'm sure Tartarus knows this, when he reforms he won't be angry." He said confidently. Yet in the back of his mind he wasn't as sure. If they had just made enemies with the God of the Pit, they were screwed.

But after a minute of silence, a sudden deep laugh erupted from the cage. It was dark and entertained, but quickly started to change until it sounded like a person who had lost their breath from laughing to hard. It was almost a cackle, as the person struggled to contain his laughter.

The cage then exploded, launching marble rubble and snakes all over the throne room. In the center, laid Tartarus, laughing uncontrollably and gripping his sides.

"Ahahaha, my Gods I'm gonna pee, I'm gonna pee." As he continued to laugh. "Now that's what I call actor of the century, where's my Emmy?"

Everyone stared at the cackling Primordial, their mouths opened wide, not believing what they were seeing.

"I have to admit, that was a pretty good show of power for your first time. With a little bit of training you should easily be able to take on those Olympians." He said getting up and wiping a stray tear from his eye.

Everyone just continued staring, not being able to say anything.

"Hellooo? Tartarus to Gods? I'm ok guys, I was just acting. I didn't subconsciously do something, did I?" he said to himself.

Medusa was first to recover. "You're crazy." She whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"What was that?" Tartarus asked.

"YOU"RE FUCKING CRAZY! WHAT WERE YOU DOING? I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" she started raging again.

She started to sprint towards Tartarus when suddenly Percy grabbed her from behind, holding her back by lifting her into the air.

"LET ME GO PERCY, I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" she yelled.

"I mean, you kinda already tried that." Percy responded, trying to keep her from breaking out of his grasp and attacking Tartarus again.

Tartarus stood there amused, as usual, but spoke sincerely. "I was just playing around at first, but when you released your powers, I wanted to see how strong they were. I apologize for worrying you all." He said bowing with his right arm across his chest.

His face then turned serious. "But I wasn't kidding. You contain immense power, if you can learn to harness it then you will become extremely powerful. I can only assume the same can be said about Percy."

Medusa had slowly calmed down, her anger settling down a bit. She noticed Percy's arms were still wrapped around her waist and she was barely able to stop herself from blushing.

"Percy, let go of my waist." She said sternly.

"What." Was his brilliant response, until he realized that he was still holding onto her. He quickly flung his arms away, almost tripping and falling on his ass.

"Oh, umm, my bad. Please don't kill me?" He said on his knees with his hands clapped in front of him. He only had one eye open, waiting for a punch.

Medusa sighed, she wished he wasn't so scared of her. "Its fine, it would be hard to anyways. Get up."

Percy stood up and the two gods turned towards Tartarus who was still observing them.

"Well, now that that fiasco is out of the way, this is what I have prepared." He started. "You two will spend the next ten years down here, training your godly powers as well as mastering weaponry and fighting styles. Then, I will send you up to the surface to begin your hunt on Echidna and Typhon's children." He said with a smile.

Percy perked up at this. "Ten years? That's great!" He then turned to Medusa. "That sounds a lot better than two thousand years, am I right?" he said nudging her a bit with his shoulder.

Medusa first sent a small glare at him for bumping into her, but she couldn't contain a small smile. "Yea, you're right. But don't get used to it, I bet you won't be again for a while." Giving him a teasing smile.

Percy just scoffed. "We'll see."

Tartarus then interrupted. "Today has been quite eventful. I guess now's a good as time to hit the hay. The bedrooms are located at the top floors, those three points you saw when you entered. I've got the Middle Tower all to myself because I'm the coolest." He said with a childish grin. "Damasen and Iapetus have their own rooms in the East Tower, so that means you guys can have the West one." He finished.

Damasen called to Percy and Medusa. "Breakfast is at 6:00 and then we will begin training in the arena at 7:00. Make sure you're not late." He said as he began heading out of the throne room.

"Enjoy yourselves." Tartarus said with a devilish grin, before teleporting to what they assumed was his room.

Percy and Medusa gave each other confused looks before they too started heading towards their rooms in the West Tower. They began walking up the limitless staircase, taking them fifteen minutes to reach the top.

"Ok, first thing on my checklist will be learning how to teleport here. There is no way, I'm walking up those stairs anytime I need to get to my room." Percy groaned.

Medusa just nodded in agreement, her legs also sore from the complicated day she had. She couldn't wait to take a shower and feel her legs beneath the comforts of a blanket.

But when the two reached the top, they noticed there was only one door.

"Huh, that's weird, maybe this is a hallway that leads to the rooms." Percy suggested.

He walked up to it and opened the door. Inside, was a single room, quite large actually and looking like an apartment studio. It had two extra doors that lead to what only could be assumed as a closet and a bathroom. There was a small kitchen in the corner for times when they didn't eat with the other residents of the palace. But Percy and Medusa froze at what they saw next. On the far side of the room, was a single king bed with a note on top of it. Medusa walked over and opened it up.

 _Forgot to tell you guys, the West Tower only has one bedroom so you guys will be sharing. Since you guys are dating anyways it should be fine. The room cleans itself daily so don't worry about any potential messes you lovebirds make._

 _Lots of Love,_

 _Tartarus XOXO_

"So, what does it say?" Percy asked a bit skeptically, still looking around the room.

Medusa's head was dipped down, so her shorter hair was cascading over her blushing face, shielding it from Percy. She was gripping the note tightly in her hands, to the point they were turning white.

'Damn that Tartarus.' She seethed in her mind.

In a steely tone, she responded to Percy.

"You're sleeping in the closet."

 **AN: And Cut. Chapter 7 complete. Tell me what you guys think. How do you think Medusa's curse was altered? I already have an idea in place, but I'm open to suggestions if I see one that's cooler.**

 **I'll be honest and say that by far, I don't think this is the best chapter I've written. I haven't written in a while (again) so like always it may be rough around the edges. I just have a hard time trying to make smooth transitions and it makes the whole thing rushed.**

 **I try to get a little Percy x Medusa action every chapter, hope you like it. Idk why but this pairing is really intriguing to me. If I missed anything, or messed some facts up, comment and I'll change them ASAP.**

 **I think that's it so I guess all there is left to say is see you in the next chapter. I don't know when I'll get to writing it cause Finals are closing in, so we'll see.**


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